Starsuckers

Chris Atkins' hilarious but shocking True Stories documentary about the celebrity-obsessed media romps through the real reasons behind our addiction to fame, and pulls the rug out from the media corporations and moguls that deal it out. Atkins sells fake celebrity stories to the tabloids, which they publish without any checks, and secretly films red-top journalists discussing the purchase of celebrities' cosmetic surgery medical records. Deliberately targeting the sacred cows of the media industry, the film features jaw-dropping secret camera footage of Max Clifford boasting about the lengths to which he will go to protect his clients. It culminates in an exposé of how media manipulation usurped Live 8 for its own ends, with powerful testimony from leading humanitarian charities like Make Poverty History. It also investigates and calls into question some of the key claims that have been presented to the public. The film reveals the harmful effect a celebrity-saturated media is having on children, and how media corporations are responsible for a global epidemic of narcissism. Atkins uses stunts, animation, expert testimony and undercover reportage to create a darkly humorous and terrifying exposé of one of the most important issues of our time.